Netherlands EURO 2020 Preview - History and Expectations

Published on 17 Apr 2020 | Last updated on 01 Jul 2026 | Reading time: 5 minutes

After the third place in the Netherlands at the 2014 World Cup, there was a decline in the performance of "Oranje". They missed the next two major international tournaments - Euro 2016 and World Cup 2018. The Dutch team was significantly rejuvenated and this generation change took time. Now the team seems much stronger with players who are no longer teenagers but leading players in major European clubs. The Netherlands and Frank de Boer will lead the way in a strong performance at Euro 2020, where they are in a group with Ukraine, Austria, and North Macedonia. The Netherlands will even have home advantage, as Amsterdam is among the cities hosting the European Finals and all the prerequisites for achieving the direct elimination of the "Oranje" are there.

Check out our preview of the Netherlands at the 2020 European Championships and what we can expect from the Flying Dutchmen.

Netherlands European Championships - History and successes

The Netherlands has one European title - it was won in 1988 in Germany. The country's other major success is the third place from 1976 when the European finals were held in the former Republic of Yugoslavia. The last time they participated in the Euro Finals, Netherlands dropped out of the group stage in 2012. Four years before that, the "Oranje" had reached the 1/4-finals, and at the 2004 Euro, they had participated in the 1/2-finals. The Netherlands has 17 wins, 8 draws, and 10 losses in the European Championships with a goal difference of 57:37.

The Road to Euro 2020

The Netherlands ranked second in their qualifying group with a direct quote for Euro 2020. The Flying Dutchmen collected 19 points in their 8 games and finished two points behind the winner in the group - Germany. Frank de Boer's selection allowed only one defeat in the group stage and it was 2:3 at home to the Bundesteam. The Netherlands, however, took revenge for that loss, winning 4-2 their visitation in Hamburg. The Dutch team scored 24 goals in 8 games - an average of 3 in a duel and received only 7 goals.

Euro 2020 fixtures

The Netherlands came into Group C of Euro 2020 with the teams of Ukraine, Austria, and North Macedonia.

• June 13, 18:00 pm: Netherlands - Ukraine / Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam /
• June 17, 18:00 pm: Netherlands - Austria / Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam /
• June 21, 20:00 pm: North Macedonia - Netherlands / Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam /

Netherlands squad for the European Football Championship 2020

The Netherlands has many young and talented players who have gained serious experience at the club level in recent years. The leader of the team is Liverpool's defender Virgil van Dijk, who has 33 games and 4 goals with the national jersey. The more experienced players in the team include Daley Blind, Jorge Wijnaldum, Kevin Strootman, Memphis Depay, and Quincy Promes. We can expect a lot from the young talents of the Netherlands on the Euro 2020. The products of Ajax Academy - Frenkie de Jong and Donnie van de Beek, have 15 and 10 appearances for "Oranje" respectively. The two were at the heart of Ajax's strong performance in the Champions League during the 2018/19 season. The first in the summer of 2019 was transferred to Barcelona, ​​and Van de Beek has signed with the Red Devils from Manchester.

Goalkeepers: Tim Krul (Norwich City), Maarten Stekelenburg (Ajax), Marco Bizot (AZ)
Defenders: Joel Veltman (Brighton & Hove Albion), Patrick van Aanholt (Crystal Palace), Nathan Ake (Manchester City), Jurrien Timber (Ajax), Stefan de Vrij (Inter Milan), Owen Wijndal (AZ), Daley Blind (Ajax), Denzel Dumfries (PSV), Matthijs de Ligt (Juventus)
Midfielders: Teun Koopmeiners (AZ), Marten de Roon (Atalanta), Georginio Wijnaldum (Liverpool), Ryan Gravenberch (Ajax), Davy Klaassen (Ajax), Donny van de Beek (Manchester United), Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona)
Forwards: Steven Berghuis (Feyenoord), Cody Gakpo (PSV), Luuk De Jong (Sevilla), Memphis Depay (Lyon), Donyell Malen (PSV), Quincy Promes (Spartak Moscow), Wout Weghorst (Wolfsburg)

Source: www.yahoo.com

The Big Star: Virgil van Dijk

"Oranje" captain Virgil van Dijk is the big star in the squad. The winner of the Liverpool Champions League in 2019 will aim to lead the Netherlands to glory at the 2020 European Championships. Van Dijk is 28 years old with 33 appearances for his country. The defender is perhaps the best footballer in his position in the world right now. Van Dijk will lead the defense of the Netherlands and at the same time, he is very dangerous when getting into the opponent's penalty box.

Expectations for the Netherlands at Euro 2020

The Netherlands were lucky in the draw and fell into a relatively easy group. The "Flying Dutchmen" should win Group C and secure an easier opponent in the elimination round of the tournament. We do not doubt that Frank de Boer's team will jump over the group stage, but we expect a tough game with Ukraine. The big question is what can achieve the Netherlands in the tournament. They have high-class players in all positions, but if the team is strong enough to win the title?. With their victory against Germany in the Euro 2020 qualifiers, they have proven that they can beat also good teams. In our opinion, the Netherlands can reach the 1/2-finals of the tournament, but their team is not ready yet to win the title.

Odds for the Netherlands

As we already mentioned a couple of times, the Netherlands is in an easy group. This is our personal view, but maybe the bookmakers are thinking the same way. They are giving a very high probability to win the group and go through the 1/8 finals. The Netherlands is not in the top 5 favorites for winning the European title in 2020. The sportsbooks give them a similar probability to win the trophy as Italy. Here are the current odds for the "Flying Dutchmen":

To win Euro 2020	13.00
To win Group C	1.40